FIFA Governance Report Welcomes Progress, Says More Reform Needed

A committee tasked with overseeing reform at international soccer’s governing body said in a report this week that although progress has been good thus far, there is much more to do.

European Pressphoto Agency

Mark Pieth, chairman of FIFA’s Independent Governance Committee, speaks at a press conference at the Home of FIFA in Zurich, on Nov. 30, 2011.

The committee, chaired by Mark Pieth, who leads the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Working Group on Bribery, made a slate of proposals for FIFA governance reform last March, some of which were approved when the governing body’s full congress met in May 2012.

Among the reforms approved, according to the report issued this week, were the split of the Ethics Committee into two chambers, a revised code of ethics, a confidential reporting mechanism and the establishment of an audit and compliance committee.

But the report warned that the reform efforts are not yet complete.

“The overall success of the project is dependent on the approval of the remaining recommendations and their effective implementation,” the report said.

It reiterated a statement made in the March 2012 report that FIFA continues to be hammered in the public eye for a lack of good governance and transparency, stressing the seriousness of the argument.

“This statement should be taken very seriously indeed: the lack of transparent structures and the culture of patronage affects the reputation of the organization and undermines its ability to lead on the way to ethical sports governance,” the report said.

The point was made clear this week when Europe’s law-enforcement agency said it suspected international crime rings fixed hundreds of matches around the world. Singaporean police are helping with the probe.

Pieth slammed European soccer officials in an interview with AP for blocking reforms at FIFA to further their own soccer officials. In the report, he said they didn’t fully grasp the urgency of reform.

The report listed several more changes that need to be made for FIFA to be an effective governance reform leader, including a plan to get all executive and standing committee members to take an integrity test, place the chairman of the audit committee in all FIFA committee meetings, introduce age limits and to redesign the bidding process for hosting events such as the World Cup.

Alexandra Wrage, president of business anti-bribery group TRACE International and a member of the committee, said in an email statement that there’s nothing unusual in the remaining recommendations.

“This is basic good governance,” she said. “Many companies have moved to this level of transparency and accountability, and non-profit international organizations should be held to the same or a higher standard.”

The report put it this way: “Without implementing the remaining recommendations…FIFA’s governance reform project will not succeed.”

Add a Comment

About Corruption Currents

Corruption Currents, The Wall Street Journal’s corruption blog, digs into the ever-present and ever-changing world of corporate corruption. It is a source of news, analysis and commentary for those who earn a living by finding corruption or by avoiding it. Corruption Currents is written by Christopher. M. Matthews and Sam Rubenfeld and edited by Nick Elliott.

Some posts in Corruption Currents are free but others, denoted by a key symbol, require a subscription.